1916 - 1917 Bromet 11

The days immediately following the launching of the attack on the Arras-Lens front were pretty bad for flying, and I remember one day in particular when some of the machines were caught in a snowstorm and had a bad time of it getting back over the lines. We had had some snow- and hail-storms during the forenoon, but in the middle of the afternoon the wind changed and the weather became fine with no indication of further storms. No. 25 Squadron had some urgent photographs to get, and as the job

would take them some distance over the lines, we were asked to provide an escort. Arnold, Little, Booker, Cuzner, and Crundall went with them, but no sooner had they left than the weather broke again, and we had a succession of heavy snowstorms. We had an anxious time waiting for the machines to return. Eventually, Little and Arnold found the aerodrome, but we heard nothing of the others until after dark when all reported as having landed safely at various aerodromes round about. As it was snowing up to 8,000 feet, and the wind was of gale force at times, they did well to get down without damage.


The push had been going well, and on the 1st and 3rd Army Fronts about 11,000 prisoners had been taken up to April the 11th.


A “Special Order of the Day" issued by the C.-in-C. reads as follows:


All the time our pilots were being kept hard at it doing offensive patrols, and escorts for No. 25 Squadron. We got on extraordinarily well with this Squadron, and, although escort work was always difficult and unpopular with the fighter pilots, our fellows had the greatest admiration for the photographic work being carried out on the “F.E.s,” and it was realised that one of our most important jobs was to see that these machines did their work unmolested.


On the 14th of April, Booker’s Flight put up a particularly good show, and so well did they scrap that six machines of No. 25 Squadron took a set of photographs of the Mericourt-Oppy line, without being attacked at all. On the same day No. 25 Squadron had an astonishing story to tell about a combat in which one of their machines was engaged. The machine was attacked by three Huns and almost at once the observer was killed; a bullet then hit the petrol tank and the machine burst into flames. The pilot managed to get his burning machine down into a wood and with his clothes on fire was shot out clear and into a bush. The bush was set on fire by his clothes but he succeeded in rolling clear and putting his clothes out. He then made his way to the nearest British post, got in touch with the gunners and gave them the exact position of a battery which was active and doing a lot of damage. As the result of his information the hostile battery was silenced.

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